The great De Vanna inspires new-gen Matildas

Lisa De Vanna can’t help but giggle when it’s mentioned how many of current Matildas named her as one of their first memories of national team.

She scored four goals at the 2007 World Cup as Australia made the quarter-finals, losing to South American giants Brazil 3-2.

It was breakthrough moment for the women’s game in Australia and a number of players in this squad – just starting out in the game back then - were inspired by De Vanna’s displays on the world stage.

Still a part of the Westfield Matildas squad eight years on, De Vanna is relishing a leadership role as a co-captain, alongside defender Claire Polkinghorne for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Told many of her team-mates named her as their inspiration growing up, an embarrassed but humbled De Vanna said: “It’s a nice thing for them to say. It’s the same way I looked at Cheryl [Salisbury] and all those players.

“It’s nice to think 10 years down the track that players are looking at me like I was at Chez, Di Alagich and Joey Peters.

“I really appreciate the girls and what they have done for themselves. I always say it to them ‘when you go out there you owe it to yourself because you are good enough to be here and you deserve this’.

“The cultures, the behaviours he wants, the philosophy he wants to imply in football but also he wants us to be more tight and united as a team,” De Vanna said.

“There’s going to be tough times, there’s going to be good times and that’s where you really see character.

“Staj wants us really to focus on the bigger picture. This whole preparation and the hard work we’ve done, the girls know that when it comes to those big games, we’ll look back at what we’ve sacrificed and that will be the motivation we need to push on.”

Asked if this is likely to be her last World Cup campaign, De Vanna said: “I feel this will be…but I said that about the last World Cup too.

“I’m 30 years old and for me I want to leave a legacy and be sort of a legend. If I go to this World Cup and do well, not just me but the team, I don’t want to keep chasing that.

“Then I want to go to the Olympics, win something and end it like that. That would be the ultimate fairytale for me.”